The present invention relates generally to training devices used by golfers to improve their performance on the golf course, and more particularly to an improved golf swing training aid that incorporates specially adapted clamp assembly for attaching to the grip end of a standard golf club with a handle member projecting rearward therefrom and a bowed guide arm extending forwardly so that the guide arm may project between the forearms of the golfer and be maintained in contact with the leading forearm during all stages of the practice swing to train the golfer in making a proper takeaway in his backswing and encourage proper hinging and unhinging of the lead wrist throughout the swing.
In recent times, the game of golf has experienced a significant growth in popularity and participation, there now being over 50 million golfers indicated worldwide, with over half of those being in the United States. Men and women, young and old alike have become golf participants and frequent players, all for the most part having a common desire to improve their game and level of play. Regardless of whether the golfer is a novice beginner or an experienced player, improvement in game-playing performance is generally sought through practice and the use of training aids both on and off the course. Golf swing training aids are practice devices designed to improve a particular aspect of the golf swing. They take a variety of forms including modified golf clubs, appliances that manipulate and/or guide the swing path, and tools that provide help in aligning the golfer to best direct the shot at the target. While the rules of golf prohibit such swing training aids to be used in actual play, their repetitive use in practice can effectively engrain the golfer with “muscle memory” or motor learning of the complex movements of muscles and joints employed in a full golf swing so that the golfer may more consistently generate an optimal form of swing execution in actual play without conscious effort. By proper design and use of these golf swing aids in training, the muscle memory developed will better able the golfer to execute the proper sequence and timing of the movements of those muscles and joints involved in the swing and to coordinate their movements for improved game performance on the course.
A desirable feature of any golf swing training aid and one that is important in developing the correct muscle memory in the golfer is the element of immediate feedback that the training aid provides the golfer while using it in practice. While practicing the golf swing, it can be difficult for the golfer to determine if he or she is performing correctly based solely on the feel of the swing. An effective swing training aid should therefore give the golfer a recognizable and immediate element of feedback, positive or negative, with every practice swing and throughout the various stages of the swing in order to develop and establish the proper muscle memory associated with a fundamentally correct swing of the hands and arms: one in which the forearms of the golfer, driven by a turning motion of the shoulders in a so-called “one-piece” takeaway, rotate gradually away from the ball at address while the wrists hinge upward into a cocked position about 90° relative to the respective forearms through the backswing, keeping the leading arm relatively straight as possible through the takeaway and the trailing arm being folded with the elbow tucked behind through the top of the backswing; then from the top of the backswing where the leading wrist is in a “flat” position with the back of the hand being in alignment with the forearm, the shoulders begin to turn back and initiate a reverse downward movement of the wrists and arms with the trailing arm unfolding and straightening as the hands and arms move through impact with the ball, where the wrists unhinge together and release just prior to impact with the leading wrist maintained in the “flat” position through the impact position. Key movements of the swing commonly recognized as essential to solid and consistent shot-making are the proper takeaway from the address position, the proper hinging of the wrists in the backswing and their unhinging in the downswing just prior to impact, with the “flat” leading wrist position, essentially set in the takeaway, being maintained at the top of the backswing and down through impact position. Through practice routines, particularly guided by a well-designed swing teaching aid, a golfer can effectively train himself through feedback and muscle memory to adopt these key swing movements correctly and in proper sequence and thereby improve his performance in actual play.
Various forms of prior art golf teaching devices have been devised and developed, some designed to train the golfer in a particular aspect of shot making, such as putting and chipping, and others intended to train the golfer in better adopting and executing the fundamentals of the full swing. In that latter group of prior art full swing training devices, a substantial number are tools or appliances that are specially configured and made to attach to the golf club shaft in such a way as to interact with the golfer's wrists and arms during the swing as a guide for training their proper movement and positioning. Examples of these are found shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,812 to Lorang; U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,054 to Stewart; U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,426 to Cox; U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,126 to Armstrong III; U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,143 to Brock et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,155 to Rohan-Weaver. While these and other prior art shaft-attachable golf swing training aids have generally performed satisfactorily when initially secured in place for practice use, their attachments are somewhat burdensome and difficult to set, and during extended usage and the repeated swing motions of the golfer, tend to loosen and move out of place, misaligning the guide elements of the aid and altering, if not eliminating their intended interaction with the golfer's wrists and arms during further practice. In addition, these and like shaft-attachable training aids found in the prior art have lacked a guidance feature most important for training the golfer to execute the proper takeaway as a vital stage of the full swing. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved golf swing training aid that will overcome these and other shortcomings in the prior art and better train the golfer in correctly executing the full swing.